Following are excerpts from Altieri's obituary written in the Record-Journal (Meriden, CT) on January 22, 2006.

Tom was the son of Thomas and Virginia Altieri. He started his amateur boxing career in 1939. In 1939 he won the New England Light Heavyweight Championship. In 1940, he won the New England Heavyweight Crown. He enlisted in the US Navy from 1941 to 1945, serving in the special services boxing for four years. In 1943 Ring magazine picked Tom Altieri as the boxer most likely to reach the top of the heavyweight division. Upon honorable discharge from the US Navy in 1945, Tom turned pro.